Eliakim and the Ten Plagues is the second installment in The Witness Series by Josh Hardin, a collection of middle-grade historical fiction that places young characters inside Bible stories from both the Old and New Testaments. In this book, readers join Eliakim, a twelve-year-old enslaved Hebrew boy working in the household of Egypt’s most powerful man.
When Pharaoh refuses to grant freedom to God’s oppressed people, Moses and Aaron call upon Jehovah to demonstrate His power. Water turns to blood. Frogs are everywhere. Boils break out. Death creeps closer with each plague, giving Pharaoh a chance to relent. How far will Pharaoh’s hardness and cruelty go? In these desperate times, Eliakim must hold on to words his mother spoke over him: "Jehovah never forgets His promises. He will do what is right, and He will do it at the right time."
Faithful to the biblical account in Exodus, this gripping adventure invites readers ages 8–17 to experience Scripture as living history.
By day, Eliakim serves Pharaoh's household: carrying food and drink, fulfilling chores for Pharaoh's sister, and attending ritual ceremonies alongside the Pharaoh's nephew, a prince just a bit older than himself. His position gives him a front-row seat to the growing conflict between Moses and Pharaoh. He hears the ruler's angry outbursts, his suspicions of Moses, and his open contempt for the God of the Hebrews.
By night, Eliakim carries that information back to his parents and the foremen of the Hebrew slave crews. He's not a soldier or a prophet. He's just an enslaved boy. But the information he carries matters, and so does the courage it takes to keep delivering it.
As Pharaoh ramps up his cruelty and the plagues intensify, so do the questions Eliakim and the Hebrews around him wrestle with:
- Why does Jehovah let us live as slaves?
- Aren't we His people?
- Why would He let this happen?
Yet alongside those questions stands something that won't let go: the faith his mother Sheerah has spoken into him. "Jehovah never forgets His promises. He will do what is right, and He will do it at the right time."
When the final plague strikes and the firstborn of Egypt fall, Eliakim is not celebrating. The prince he has served, a boy he knows, is among the dead. Pharaoh's rebellion against Jehovah has a cost, and Eliakim watches Egypt pay it.
Eliakim and the Ten Plagues explores themes readers of any age will recognize:
- Refusing to adopt the beliefs and worship practices of the surrounding culture.
- Blaming God's messengers for suffering.
- Doubting God's goodness or power when life is hard.
- Fear of stepping into the unknown, even when uncertainty is the cost of freedom.
Written at a fourth to sixth grade reading level but rich in emotional depth and mature themes, this second book of The Witness Series by Josh Hardin is an ideal choice for reluctant or struggling readers in grades 7–11 who find longer or more complex books frustrating.
Fast-paced and full of tension, with energetic black and white illustrations throughout, Eliakim and the Ten Plagues will keep readers turning pages, even those who already know how the Exodus story ends.